Think Like A Man
by Leonora T
Summary: Of course being apart of the male gender requires certain special skills that need to be perfected at an early. Whats one of the most important skills? Learning how to 'embellish'


_Okay I wrote this story and midnight yesterday. I just started writing and this is what I ended up with. Sorry if its terrible XP _

**Think Like A Man **

The image was just too cute. Here stood a little eight year old girl, staring bashfully at an only slightly taller ten year old boy. Her right foot curved inward in shyness as she laced her fingers together. A pink blush regularly growing on the young girl's face. She batted her eyes like she'd saw Tifa do several times before. "Are those flowers for me Denzel?" Marlene asked in her adorable, high pitched voice.

The brownish redhead child looked absently down at his hand that held several flowers, seemingly he had forgotten that he was even holding the dandelions. "No." He said finally after examining the flowers. "But you can have this one..." He carefully picked out a rather ragged looking flower with a few of its petals missing. He couldn't understand why this kind gesture was received so negatively by Marlene. The small girl crossed her arms as tears started to fall from her chocolate brown eyes. Without another word to Denzel she ran off towards Highwind's house which was only a small dash away.

------

"There, there Marlene." Tifa tried to comfort the sobbing child. She wished desperately that Barret was here but sadly he was away on business while Tifa took the kids to visit the Highwind family. "Its not that big of a deal honey."

"Surely isn't." Shera commented as she made her way over to the kitchen table, a tea tray in her hands. "I've been married to Cid for two years now, had his child, but yet he's never given me flowers and I don't expect him to anytime soon." She sat down across from Tifa. "Have a cup of tea sweetie, it will make you feel better." It seemed no matter what the problem was, Shera Highwind was a firm believer tea could remedy it.

Marlene blocked out Mrs. Highwind to the best of her ability. She clutched onto Tifa's shirt as she looked up in her eyes. "Well who was he gonna give them too?" This bothered Marlene the most, who was it that was more important than herself to Denzel?

"I made this for you Mrs. Highwind." The young boy appeared from no where silently, an annoying habit he'd learned from the ever elusive Cloud, a badly made flower crown in his hand. "It was the first time I've ever tried to make one, so its not that good." He remarked bashfully as he handed the object to Shera.

The green eyed woman gave a sympathetic look to Marlene before she thanked the boy and went off to put it somewhere 'safe' and 'special'. It was no secret Denzel had a crush on Shera. Perhaps it was her tender and loving ways that had him so drawn to the even tempered, soft spoken woman. Tifa had often remarked if only Denzel had know Aeris he would have never left her side.

----

"Marlene, you awake?" Denzel tapped lightly on the door.

"No." Came the answer from inside.

"Oh, to bad. I got something for you." Denzel walked into Marlene's make shift bed room that the Highwinds always had available for her. Several stuffed chocobos and moggles littered the floor.

"Why don't you just go give it to Mrs Highwind instead." She grumbled sourly as she pulled the covers over her head. "Leave me alone Denzel, I'm sleeping."

"No you're not." Denzel yanked the cover away from Marlene, she pouted in frustration. Her usually neatly kept brown locks were now seriously suffering from a bad case of bed head. It took all Denzel's might not too laugh at her and somehow he managed. After all, she was already mad at him (for what he couldn't understand) and he didn't want to make it worse. He hoped up on her bed and pulled out a single pink flower from his shirt pocket. "You said your favorite color was pink."

Marlene stared at the beautiful flower for a moment, unsure of what to say. Finally, words found there way to her mouth as she folded her arms...and they certainly wasn't what Denzel expected. "I don't want it."

The boy frowned at this. "I thought you'd like a pink flower, so I went to get you one."

"After you found Shera's dandelions, right?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Goodnight Denzel!" Marlene huffed as she once again pulled the cover over her head. This time when Denzel tried to yank the cover from her, she was prepared and held on to the material with all her might. Finally with a sigh of defeat the boy sat the flower on the nightstand and exited the room.

-----

"Bye bye Lily." Tifa kissed the small blond infant on the forehead and earned a giggle. She then looked at Shera and smiled. "You are so lucky."

The tall brunette gave her a curt nod. "Yes, but you are too Tifa."

"COME ON WOMEN! SAY YOUR GOODBYES ALREADY! I ANIT GOT ALL DAY!" Cid yowled over the sound of the starting Sierra.

Shera rolled her eyes at her husband. "Come back soon Tifa, Lily really adores you."

"I'll try." Tifa said and she was nearly knocked down as Marlene and Denzel zoomed by her and made their way to the Sierra. "But I kinda got my hands full right now." Tifa waved one final goodbye before she followed the children aboard the airship.

----

"What does this do?" Denzel asked, obviously fascinated by how this huge airship worked.

Cid grumbled. He didn't mind sharing some of his knowledge for airships with the younger generation, but it seemed this kid was dead set on asking what every single button, handle and clutch did. "It makes annoying little brats shut there yaps for two hours."

"So I wouldn't want to push it then, would I?"

Cid tore his gaze away from his controls. Two pair of completely different blue eyes locked. "I dare ya boy, go ahead." His voice was dead serious which made Denzel back off immediately.

"Sorry." He mumbled. How come Cid wasn't like his wife? Cid was always so...so...Cid like. While Shera was kind, sweet and never mad. "Does Shera ever get mad at you?" Denzel suddenly asked as he approached Cid once more.

The blond haired pilot laughed as he lit another cigarette. "She's a woman, anit she? And boy howdy I'm really going to be in trouble when Lily gets older. Everything I say and do will be wrong! Won't win an argument or nothing."

"Are all women like that?"

"All the ones I ever meant."

"How do you make them un-mad?" Denzel asked, he desperately wanted Marlene to talk to him once more. They hadn't talked in a day and a half and it was seriously starting to bother him.

"Heh, why ya wanna know, brat? Got yer little girlfriend mad at ya?"

"She's not my girlfriend!" Denzel countered but wasn't able to stop the blush from creeping on his pale, freckled face.

"How'd ya know who I was talkin' bout?" Cid raised an eyebrow as she glanced at the boy only to see him turn three deeper shades of red. "HAH!" The pilot laughed at the boys embarrassment. "Well brat, its not easy. When women get mad it can be hard to make em happy again, so the key is... not to make em mad in the first place."

"I'm passed that point."

"O, well, bad luck for you." Cid began to laugh again. With a frustrated sigh Denzel turned to leave the captain's quarters only to have Cid call him back. "You gotta show em you really care about em, more than anything else."

"Like pick a flower?" Denzel asked in confusion.

"Yeah and no. Women like flowers, but thats not enough. See thats too simple. They gotta feel special, that you really went out of your way for em. Make em feel like you faced a horde of monsters just for em. "

Denzel's eyes widened in fear. "Monsters...I don't think I can do that Cid, I mean-"

"Kid," Cid raised his hand up silencing Denzel. "Saying and doing are two _completely_ different things..."

----

"Hmm...that's weird. Denzel has been gone all day." Tifa commented more to herself as she continued her dusting. Marlene seemed less than interested as she sat on the sofa with freshly made chocolate milkshake watching a new episode of Spongebob Squarepants. "And I thought Denzel loved that show." Tifa commented once again, but this time it was directed towards Marlene.

The girl took a break from he milkshake long enough to say. "I dunno." And quickly turned her attention back to the show and treat.

Tifa frowned. "I'm pretty sure he does Marlene. That's unlike him to miss cartoons he likes. I wonder where he went..." Naturally the brunette began to worry much like a mother as she tried to think where the brownish redhead could be at.

Before motherly instinct could truly set in and cause her to panic, the silent figure of Denzel appeared at the front door. The leg of his pants covered in dried mud and a look of exhaustion on his face.

"Denzel...where have been?" Tifa asked curiously as she approached the boy, but before she could say another word he made a mad dash up the stairs and locked his room. "That's a strange boy..."

----

"Would you like some more tea Ms. Pittieweather?" Marlene sweetly asked her stuffed moogle with the pink pom pom. She was determined not to let her sour feelings for Denzel spoil her good time, though she did secretly admit that playing 'WRO and Deepground' with Denzel was far more fun than playing tea party with her many stuff animals. "I wish dad was home." She grumbled as she buried her face in her hands. She would be more than happy to see Barret, then the two of them could go home to Correl and Denzel would not only be out of sight but out of mind. Besides, Marlene had several good friends back in Correl that she missed...

"I didn't know you still played tea party?" Almost out of thin air, Denzel appeared beside her. His enchanting blue eyes that were so much like Cloud's stared at her awaiting a response.

"Ya...well...hey wait a minute!" She then remember she wasn't talking to him anymore. "Get out of my room!"

"Really this isn't your room, you are just using it." Denzel remarked. He was taken off guard with Marlene shoved him.

"I said out!"

"Fine...if you want me out...but I wanna give you one thing before I do..."

The girl crossed her arms and eyed him suspiciously. "What? Another pink flower?"

"No." He said simply as he began to dig in his coat pocket. Out from his pocket came a crumpled, but still largely intake flower crown. He handed it to Marlene, expecting her to take it but she only looked at it with a puzzled expression.

"Its all torn and stuff." She crinkled her nose.

"Well yeah, walking to Rocket Town will do that to a flower crown." He placed it gingerly on Marlene's head.

No longer caring about the object that was now on top of her head, Marlene instead stood and looked at Denzel with much interest. "You WALKED to Rocket Town!? When!? Why!?"

"Well I walked some and hitchhiked, today, and I went there to get the crown back from Mrs. Highwind. I got attacked by a group of HUGE Boundfats and I had to run into the huge muddy river to get away from them. But I didn't see _or_ expect to find a Blue Dragon sleeping in the mud and it nearly bit my head off! Luckily I was able to get out of the mud and I found this huge stick on the ground and I used to to impale the monster in the heart. " Denzel explained his amazing adventure to the girl

When Marlene didn't say anything, he continued. "I did it because you deserved it in the first place. Not Shera." He was taken by surprise as Marlene hugged him tightly. Denzel smiled brightly as he returned the hug. "Friends again?"

"Always." She chirped brightly before jumping up. "Come on, its still light outside! If we hurry we can still play WRO and Deepground!" And with that the two children hurried outside, invisible guns drawn.

---

"Sorry 'bout worrying you Tifa." The blond's pilot's voice came from the phone.

"Its okay...its just I wished you had told me you were taking Denzel riding on the Sierra for a day." Tifa paused cleaning her glasses. Why _DID_ Cid take Denzel on a trip. "Cid, why did you and Denzel go out flying?"

A mischievous snicker could be heard from the other line. "What did you two do?" Tifa imaged the two of the them going to Nebelheim to hang garlic all over the old ShinRa mansion.

"He and Marlene had a tiff about some damn flower thing that he gave Shera. So I told the boy right when I took ya'll home the other day that the best way to get back on Marlene's good side was to get that there flower from Shera and take it to Marlene." Cid paused for a moment, no doubt taking a puff off of a cigarette. "But of course Denzel isn't thinking like a man yet so I had to tell him to eh...embellish the story a little bit."

"Embellish?"

"Yeah, ya know. Walking all the way to Rocket Town in the mud, having to hitchhike, facing monsters all that good stuff. Heck! I even told him to go run around in the mud outside my house for a solid hour so she'd buy the story!"

Tifa couldn't help but smile as she faked a stern voice. "Cid I'd appreciate it if you didn't teach Denzel to be a man quiet so young."

_Like? Hate? Just okay? Let me know please! _

_S.S. _


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